Uzbekistan: Bilateral Trade with Iran to Increase in 2010

Bilateral trade between Uzbekistan and Iran should almost double in 2010, according to Iran's Minister for Commerce.

Speaking at the 10th Iran-Uzbekistan joint economic commission in Tehran, Mehdi Ghazanfari said the current volume of trade, $600 million, should reach $1 billion over the next 12 months.

Iran's expertise in the oil & gas sector and the agricultural sector, coupled with Uzbekistan's industrial capacity, can help "achieve great advances," Ghazanfari said. Recent agreements on preferred tariffs and the easing of one-year visas are contributing to an enhanced business environment, he added.

Elyor Ganiev, Uzbekistan's deputy prime minister and minister for foreign economic relations, trade and investment, said cooperation with Tehran is a top priority. However, improvements to the regional transport infrastructure will be necessary to realize an increase in bilateral trade, Uzreport.com quoted him as saying on January 19.